UC Irvine junior Marisa Bubica and UC Santa Barbara freshman Kristen Berlo were the recipients of the final women’s volleyball weekly honors for the 2014 season.
Bubica Spearheads Upset Of Third Place CSUN
UC Irvine junior Marisa Bubica (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro HS) spurred her team to a four-set upset of third-place CSUN to finish out the 2014 season and earn herself Big West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week honors.
The 6-3 outside hitter, who did not start the match against the Matadors, churned out a match-high 24 kills. She tied a career high in hitting .455, committing just four errors in 44 swings. Bubica crushed a cross-court winner to end the match with a tight 27-25 set four victory.
The Anteaters finished the 2014 campaign 19-12 overall, and 9-7 in the Big West, good for fifth place.
Others nominated: Casey Hinger (CSUN); Jenelle Hudson (Long Beach State); Ali Barbeau (UC Santa Barbara); Tai Manu-Olevao (Hawai‘i)
Berlo Doubles Up As Freshman, Defender Of The Week
Helping UC Santa Barbara to a win over rival Cal Poly in the season finale, UC Santa Barbara middle blocker Kristen Berlo (Palm Harbor, Fla./San Marcos HS) garnered dual awards as Big West Women’s Volleyball Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week.
Berlo had a solid all-around match in the four-set win over the Mustangs. She notched 11 kills on .476 hitting, making just one error in 21 swings. She also anchored the Gaucho block, coming up with eight of the team’s 20 stuffs on the night.
She got the Gauchos off to the right start with back-to-back block assists to open the contest, and had four of her blocks in the first set.
Others nominated (Freshman): Taylor Nelson (Cal Poly); Ashley Murray (Long Beach State); Kalei Greeley (Hawai‘i)
Others nominated (Defensive): Nicole Kessler (Cal Poly); Kelcie Randazzo (CSUN); Tyler Jackson (Long Beach State); Sarah Mendoza (Hawai‘i)